Water wisdom

Today is World Water Day, the annual international celebration of the Earth’s most precious life element and the key to virtually all measures of human well-being and prosperity. As the UN wraps up its main events in Cape Town, South Africa, it’s worth noting that this is a traditional occasion for recognizing achievements in the field – particularly those that help humanity better manage its precious H2O resources.

The Stockholm Water Prize is a global award founded in 1991 and presented annually by my former colleagues at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) to an individual, organisation or institution for outstanding water-related activities. H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, who is the patron of the Prize, will formally present Professor Carpenter with the 2011 Stockholm Water Prize at a Royal Award Ceremony in Stockholm City Hall on August 25 during the 2011 World Water Week in Stockholm.

Even though much of North America still takes its freshwater for granted, it’s clear that the rest of the world knows better. There’s only so much to go around for daily life, agriculture, energy, industry, recreation, and especially the delicate ecological balance we hold with other species on our planet. Whether you believe in “anthropogenic” climate change or not, it’s clear that the planetary climate is changing…and that the effects manifest most dramatically through water.

These awards highlight working solutions to an ever complex matrix of problems…and they raise awareness for an urgent global challenge.